(xxx) Trials
by Eve111
Summary: Herobrine captures Sparklez' wife and child Ant and SkitScape, and traps them, before putting the man himself through a series of trials to see just how much he loves them. Rated M for later chapters. Summary is really bad, but don't let that stop you. Will contain Yaoi and smut and Captain Sparklez/Ant Venom. SparkAnt. Don't like don't read.
1. (x) Stolen

I really hate this writing but… HERE IT IS. Hopefully the quality of my writing should get better as I write. Here is chapter one of my promised 30 chapter fiction. I don't like it so far… Hopefully it'll get better.

* * *

Sparklez felt incredible anger the moment he saw his father with a knife. The anger that turned into fear when the knife was sent flying and the anger that turned into fury, rage and also incredible grief when the knife struck Ant.

For a moment the world ran slow, Sparklez saw Ant pulling the knife from his chest, he saw his father teleporting far away, and then it sped back up. Sparklez ran forward to catch Ant who was now falling, his body weak and unable to support him. Sparklez felt a strange surge of sadness. _Why_? _Why_ would his father _kill _Ant.

That's when the tears spilt. Sparklez brought Ant slowly down onto the floor, resting his head on his lap. An expression of sadness and loss crossed Ant's face. For a moment there was silence, and the pair only looked at each other.

"Take care of Skit for me."

Sparklez' lower lip quivered, and he nodded, a few tears loosing their cling to his chin and falling. "I will." Closing his eyes, Sparklez began to hum slowly, rocking back and forth as he watched Ant's eyes close. "Goodbye…" He gently used the pads of his fingers to close Ant's eyes, before he exploded, screaming at the air, his tears flying.

•••

_"Your son is in my car."_

Sparklez was fuming over the note as he called Kuledud3 and Sky. "Herobrine…" He muttered. "First you kill my wife, then you kidnap my son!" He spat. "Now you've gone too far!"

•••

Kuledud3 ran forward and slammed into the back of Herobrine's car, lurching the unconscious child's body forward. He pressed the gas hard once more, bringing his car in line eight the other, and turned to face Herobrine. "Hand him over you son of a bitch!"

Sparklez winced. It wasn't as great idea to call his father something like _that_. Kuledud3 pulled out a gun, and was about to shoot when his car slammed into a pole, sending him flying out of the char, while Herobrine just continued driving.

Slky drove by next, his golden car glinting beneath every light. Sparklez ran beside him at incredible speeds; being the son of Herobrine, he could, on occasion, do incredible feats, although he did so very rarely for it took an incredible amount of energy.

Herobrine stopped at the intersection of the bridge when the pair had finally cornered him. He grabbed the unconscious child from the back of the car and jumped out, running to the edge of the bridge, before turning to face the others, almost asking them for some final words.

"Hand him over father." Captain Sparklez spat in distaste. "Threatening me is one thing, hurting me another, but killing my _wife_ and kidnapping my _child_!?"

"Who says I killed him?"

Sparklez fell silent.

"I simply drugged him."

For a moment there was silence as Sparklez absorbed what had just been said, and then he lunged forward, willing to get his son back, but he was too slow. The boy's grandfather was off with him already, stealing him away from his father. Sparklez nearly screamed in shock horror, but jumped into the car almost immediately. If Ant wasn't drugged… He _had_ to get back before he woke up.

•••

The body wasn't there. _That_ was when Sparklez scream. _That_ was what made Sparklez send everyone away and go to bed in tears. His father was… Sparklez sighed. The first thing he would do in the morning when he had a clear mind, would be to make a plan. A plan to find his father, and restore his loved ones.


	2. (x) The Unlit Labyrinth

So chapter 2 seems short as well…

I PROMISE they get longer.

I've written further on.

Yes it's a sad story but omfg my writing quality has dropped here.

Anyway, SparkAnt relationship implied, but nothing in this chapter yet XD.

Please drop comments.

* * *

"These trials…

Just how devoted are you? How much will you do to save your family? Or is Ant just a fuck buddy, and is Skit an unwanted child?

We'll see.

- Herobrine."

•••

"How far will you go to know that Sparklez loves you? To keep him in your life? What would you do to keep Skit safe? How much of your mental happiness would you sacrifice?"

•••

"Would you escape this prison cell if it meant you would never see your family again?"

•••

Sparklez felt extremely confused. On one end he was furious, on the other he felt immense sorrow and loss. _How_? _How_ could his father do this to him!? Sparklez threw the neatly written note to the ground, and pulled himself to his feet, peering at the darkness in front of him. A maze. A labyrinth with no light… None at all…

•••

"What do you want from us Herobrine?" Ant shouted, struggling to free himself from the bindings holding him to the chair. The place he was seated had only one redstone torch to provide light.

"I want to see your true dedication." A voice murmured from the shadows.

"Give me my son back!" Ant yelled blindly into the darkness ahead.

"Not until I know that he truly loves you, and hasn't turned gay just because he was controlled by lust."

Ant hung his head, the words echoing in his mind. "He… He couldn't… He wouldn't… He… He loves me… How-"

A small chuckle was heard. Off course some of this was just for his own entertainment, but… It was worth seeing just how far he could push his son. "He could. He definitely could."

•••

Sparklez gritted his teeth, and slowly inched forward into the black of the maze. Gingerly, he pressed his right hand against the cool of the wall. It was somewhat bumpy. _Stone_. Sparklez continued inching his way forward, and his hand reached something rougher and dustier. _Dirt_. He inhaled slowly, before continuing his way forward, plunging into the underground maze.

Sparklez kept his hand firmly glued to the wall, and eventually found himself hearing deep noises coming from nearby. Coming from around the next corner to be precise. Sparklez slowly made his way towards the corner, inch by inch. There was light coming from somewhere too - very dim, but Sparklez was thankful for it after spending what seemed like an eternity in nothing but darkness… _Whatever_ it may be…

In one swift movement, Sparklez had jumped around the corner, his fists balled and held in front of him in defence. All that stood in front of the Minecrafter, however, was a purple frame filled with purple goo that was slowly shifting about, as though someone were stirring it above a flame. A nether portal. The Minecrafter sighed. Brilliant. Just brilliant. Returning to the nether was something he had never wanted to do.

_"How much will you do to save your family?"_

_"Is Ant just a fuck buddy?"_

_"Is Skit just an unwanted child?"_

Sparklez scowled as his father's words rang through his head. _No_! No they weren't! And he would do _everything_ within his power to save them. He would prove his father wrong! A stern, strong look of determination crossed Sparklez' face, seconds before he jumped through the thick, mist like veil. "I had better get a sword soon." Was the last thought on his mind as he slowly faded into another dimension.


	3. (x) A First Sacrifice

Oh Notch I'm SO SORRY

Please don't murder me...

Thankyou heaps to Rockie for beta-ing this one.

•••

The first thing he heard was the sound of Lava bubbling. His eyes were closed, but he could still tell that the lava was probably inches from him. In the Nether, bubbles of lava were bursting and spraying tiny drops of million-degree liquidated-rock, flinging them towards the body that was laying on a bed on Nether rack and landing only centimetres from it. Sparklez moaned, his eyes slowly flickering open. He coughed once and pulled himself to his feet. How long had he been unconscious? His body was covered in beads of sweat just from the sheer heat of his surroundings.

Sparklez swallowed hard and blinked before looking around him. Not much had changed since he was a child. The Nether was still a clusterfuck of lava, soul sand and nether rack, and the whether had definately remained the same- twenty four hours of pure heat, fire and lava a day and seven days of hell in a week. Glancing downwards, Sparklez noticed that he was on a platform of nether rack. A path, only a single block wide, composed of soul sand, was constructed and led away towards a house surrounded by pools of lava. There was clearly nowhere else to go… Sparklez walked towards the house carefully, placing one foot after the other. As he got closer, Sparklez could see that there was a note pinned to the door, and he gingerly plucked it off, flipping it over to read the cursive writing on it.

"The first sacrifice you must make…"

•••

Ant choked back a sob as he listened to Skit's cries, wriggling in his bindings and trying to free his arms so that he could pull off the blindfold and free himself, and, more importantly, to comfort Skit as well. Even if the two wouldn't be able to make it out of this room, his child still needed his reassurance, his child _needed_ him...

Herobrine smirked as he watched the Minecrafter stuggle, and failing in his attempts to free himself." It's no use AntVenom, he's not even physically nearby."

"Let him go!" Ant screamed, trying to act brave as he gritted his teeth, "And where's Sparklez?"

Herobrine smirked again and clicked the button to stop the recording. "Oh he's fighting to save you." Pushing a single button on the recording device, he pulled out the disk and pushed it into a slip. "And I'm sure he'll enjoy hearing these when he gets here." Herobrine dropped the disk on the floor beside the faintly glowing redstone computer.

"Now we have to move out." And with that, Herobrine walked over to wear Ant was being held at, and his rough hand closed around Ant's collar as proceeded to drag him out of the room.

•••

"The first sacrifice you must make. There are pools of lava all around you. All you have to do is dip your right hand in." Sparklez couldn't sworn he felt his heart stop. Stick his right hand in burning lava... His right hand- the hand he used for just about everything. He held his sword in that hand, he wrote with that hand... he fondled Ant with that hand... He stroked Ant's cheek with that hand... Sparklez looked down at the hand which was holding the note right now. "I have to do it..." Sparklez said to himself, "Otherwise there would be no way to save Ant and Skit."

Slowly but surely, Sparklez went over to the side of the island, slowly kneeing onto one knee, hit eyes fixed onto the bubbling lava that looked more vile than ever. He would have some resistance inherited from his father but... That would only make it worse. Sparklez inhaled slowly, pulling up his sleeve and gritting his teeth.

_'Okay, here goes.'_

__Sparklez eased his hand slowly into the lava. He didn't stop even when he felt, first, his fingers, being submerged in the burning liquid. Only when he came to the joint between his hand and his wrist did he stopped lowering his hand into the lava. At first, there was nothing but heat and a faint tingling, as though fish were nibbling at his hand.

A few seconds later, it began to burn.

Sparklez grunted as the pain increased with each passing moment. At first it felt like someone was viciously rubbing his hand with sandpaper, scratching and damaging his skin tissue, then it slowly grew into the feeling as if someone was skinning his hand, tearing his skin open and carving out his flesh, and even went as far as to completely liquidizing his bones.

Sparklez felt his lips trembling as he heard himself let loose a cry of pain. His left hand latched onto his right wrist, fighting the urge to pull it out, and he felt himself getting faint as his right hand began to felt numb, and soon all feeling to his hand had ceased, and as he finally pulled his hand out, all that was left was a blackened knob, still burning slightly.

Sparklez fell backwards onto the ground, panting hard. He felt so _sick._ A faint click from behind and the door that led into the house was opened. Sparklez struggled to his feet, and stumbled dizzily through the doorway, and Another portal quickly came into view- this time, the portal led back to the Overworld. Sparklez ran a hand over his face, trying to clear his mind of the dizziness before walking through the portal.

•••

"His right hand is gone."

Silence.

"In lava."

A whimper.

"Don't worry, there's more."

A pair of lips trembled as a sob was emitted.

"You've got to wait here. He'll be coming soon."

Ant felt a slight glimmer of hope. Could it be that these trials weren't as long as he had thought they were?

As if Herobrine had read his mind, he quickly added,"Don't get your hopes up, you're only part of this trial, a trial of stamina."

Ant felt his hope drop, and then plunge even more at the thought of being a part of the trial.

Begin_ used_...


	4. (x) Let Them Go Too

Thankyou Rockie for beta-ing this for me ^_^

This is chapter four and it has some scenes which can be described as violent I guess? I don't dwell into too much detail, it's just a warning.

Also, in the SparkAnt fandom, Ant is classified as Sparklez' wife, for those who don't know.

* * *

CH.4

Sparklez sat with his legs crossed, staring at the knife on the grass, it's blade shining in the bright daylight. He did nothing for a few moments, and averted his eyes to look down at the note he had just picked up. Despite the small amount of words that were present the piece of paper,they had managed to make Sparklez feel horrible.

If there was something he didn't want to do…. It was this. Sparklez read the words on the paper once more and frowned, lips pouting. Yeah. He most certainly did not want to do this.

"Sparklez. Kuledud3 and Sky. Use the knife."

•••

"Ant, just how much would you forgive Sparklez?"

Silence. Even though he couldn't see it, Ant could almost hear the smirk on Herobrine's face.'For _what_?'

"Let's say he was a murderer. What would you do then?"

There was a sharp inhale of air as Ant realized what the Nether Lord was getting at.

"What if he did it to save you-"

"Who are you making him kill?" Ant almost yelled, frightened by the calmness of the other's voice.

Herobrine smirked at the other's immediate reaction. How he liked to play with other people's emotions. He continued. "And if he didn't kill them, it would be cowardice; It would mean that he didn't love you."

No reply. When Ant spoke next, his voice had dropped significantly. It was _weak_. "Who did you make him kill…."

"Oh… Only two friends…." Herobrine said. One could easily hear the smugness in his voice.

Ant closed his eyes, feeling a lump growing in his throat as he choked back the tears, thinking about the possibilities. '_Who was it?'_

•••

Sparklez gingerly grabbed the knife in his hand, trying to quickly accustom himself to using his left hand. How in Minecraftia was he going to carry this through!? The previous trial had been a sacrifice from himself, but this was…. _different_. He himself may be willing enough to sacrifice something from himself to save Ant, but that didn't mean that Sky and Kuledud3 would and should be as willing as well. Granted that he was friends with the two, but they were also Ant's! They were Ant's _closest_ friends! And plus, their lives weren't his to take!

A series of ethical questions began to fill Sparkle'z mind. He would be sacrificing two people he liked to save the one he loved, and the possible happiness of the one he loved…. Would that be right? Two lives for one? And what would it say about him? This was _greed_! Sparklez would also be killing to get what _he_ wanted… But there was also Skit, his child, which he had the responsibility to protect… Sparklez screwed up his eyes. Either way, two people would die. Either way it would be his fault. But one would fill him with guilt, the other with grief. One would be by his hand(because Sparklez only has one hand now XD), the other by another's.

Sparklez closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had to do it. "I'm…. I'm so sorry Ant… I'm sorry Sky… and Kuledud3…" he mumbled to no one in particular. Opening his eyes, Sparklez walked forward and out from behind the trees. Ant's hometown stood before him, and Sky's house was only a few meters away. Sparklez swallowed hard, and his grip on the knife tightened as he advanced, and knocked against the other's door, hiding the knife behind him.

As Sky opened the door, he grinned at the sight of CaptainSparklez. Sure he was a bit messy, but he hadn't seen the other since the whole 'incident' happened. "Hey! It's been so long! Come on in!" He ushered the other inside, noting how uncomfortable the other seemed. "Would you like some milk? Take a seat, get comfortable!" Sky turned around only to find a knife inches from his face. His eyes simply widened, and he looked up at the other, silently asking for an explanation.

CaptainSparklez closed his eyes and looked down. Tears had already begun to leak. "I'm sorry Sky…" he murmured, his voice hoarse, and Sky's brow furrowed. Why was the other crying? And why was he sorry…. Didn't he have a _choice_?

"Ant won't forgive me for this…." Sparklez continued, still refusing to look at the other in the eye.

Sky swallowed. What was he going on about? Of _course_ Ant would be mad! He had every reason to be!

"But Sky… I don't want to do this, and if there were anyway around this… I'd take it… But the only other option is to let Skit and Ant die… I'm doing this to save Ant. I-…" Sparklez sobbed, unable to continue. His hand was shaking and tears flowed freely down his face. The same tears had begun to run down Sky's face as he finally realized what Sparklez was about to do. "Tell Dawn I love her…" Sky whimpered, "Tell her-"

He was cut short when a scream tore through his throat. Short, sharp, but loud, and then silence, safe for the soft thud as the body hit the ground, and the small sounds of Sparklez sobbing as he fell to his knees, the blood covered knife still gripped in his hands.

Seconds later, the door burst open, and a group of villagers came flooding into the house, falling silent upon seeing the scene laid out before them. Sparklez looked up at them, slowly standing up. The crowed begun to back out, in fear of being the next 'victim', and Sparklez felt the incredible shame overcoming him. His gaze swept across the group of Minecraftians, and he willed his body to lunge forward as soon as he saw the bright-pink hoodie, grasping at the loose fabric furiously. Within seconds, he had locked the door and had Kuledud3 up against a wall.

Kuledud3 let out a scream, and tried to struggle agianst the other's firm grip. What was wrong with CaptainSparklez? The other's hand was now cupped over his mouth, cutting off any further screams.

Well aware of the other villager's who were gazing through the windows, Captain Sparklez began explaining his actions to Kuledud3, in much the same way he had done so to Sky, and when he had finished, he added; "You know I had once loved you… But that finished… Can you please remember me…?"

Eyes wide and completely dumbstruck, Kuledud3 nodded slowly, trying not to sob. For once he just wanted to be killed, and get it over and done with. He didn't want to have to think about it. He hadn't many family relations, but he-

His eyes glazed over as he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest, and his body slowly slid down to the floor, his blood already starting to pool around him, staining the wooden tiles of the floor.

Sparklez was panting hard when he dropped the knife with a loud 'clank', and looked around him. He was surrounded… Villagers were all around the house, gaping at him through the windows, some with frowns, some with expressions of shock and hurt. Sparklez closed his eyes and looked away. He didn't want to see their expressions. Not now. Not when he knew what they thought of him.

"This is the police! Step away from the door please!"

Sparklez' eyes snapped open. Shit! The police! He _had_ to find a way out of here, otherwise he wouldn't be able to save Ant and Skit. His eyes darted round the room, locking on the ladder that led to the second floor. There was _bound_ to be a window he could escape through.

Clambering up the rungs, Sparklez grabbed a book from beside the ladder, and carefully hit it against the glass over and over until a large enough crack appeared. He dropped the book and backtracked, turning his body sideways and preparing to run through the shards, just as he heard the door downstairs give way to the constant kicking.

He bolted forward, jumping and leaping through the glass. TIny edges grazed the side of his arms and legs. He winced as one cut his cheek. Screams and shots came from the villages below as they saw him fly out from the building, and he rolled on the ground a few times when he landed. Immediately spring back to his feet, Sparklez ran, his feet flying below him.

"Come back here! You're under arrest!" Came the cry from one of the policemen. Sparklez did not stop. He had to find somewhere safe. He had to get away so that he could save the ones he loved. He had to find somewhere to hide before he could be safe. A cave would be his first option… But no.. there was only one choice really. The only _truly_ safe place… That would be…. the _farlands._


	5. (xxx) Near Drowning

A.N

OKAY

I'M SORRY FOR THE WAIT PEOPLE!

I think you guys know what school is.

I can promise one thing though: If I ever stop this series, I'll make an announcement about it. Trust me when I say it's always in my mind, because it is. I haven't forgotten about you people! It's just that school is bogging me down in more ways than one and I'm struggling to even make my own ends meet. Not to mention I'll probably get in trouble when reports come out. I'm mostly concerned about losing my tablet but anyway I'm not going to complain about my problems here.

Thanks Rockie for beta-ing again!

PLEASE READ:

Just a warning that the beginning might strike you as a what the frick moment. I have to incorporate these things because the challenger asked me to have at least 5 chapters with smut of some sort (she said yaoi but I tried to loosen it). I tried my best to incorporate it without being /too/ weird. It's a small description of yaoi between CS and Ant, just saying. You've been warned ok?

I'm sure I'm going to loose a few followers because of this…. ughhhh well… I can't really just not listen to the challenger.

Hope you enjoy ^_^

•••

Sparklez grinned, watching as the younger male below him was thrown forward with each thrust, face diving into the pillows and nails digging at the sheets like claws. Every time the elder pulled out, the younger turned, as if he were about to say something, but never got the chance to, with his face being thrown forward into the pillows as the elder male thrusted into him again.

"You like that, Ant?" Sparklez asked, hand snaking under and down the side of the other's belly as he began to run his hand up and down the other's already massive length. Sparklez felt the younger twitch in his hand, and resisted the urge to forcefully grab ahold of the other's cock in his hand. Whilst denial to release turned Sparklez on incredibly, it wasn't something he was going to do at a time like this,no matter how much he wanted to.

Fingers still clawing at the sheets, Ant let out a moan as he bucked his hips back against the other to meet his thrusts as though, despite the incredible pain, he wanted to feel more of the other's length in him. "S-Sparklez…" He muttered, still trying to turn around whenever the other pulled out.

Sparklez only grinned as he continued to make passionate love to the other, when something snapped in his mind. Wait a second… How had they even gotten home? Wasn't Sparklez still in the far-

The elder's eyes snapped open, gasping, and he found himself staring straight up at a layer of rock and dirt. So…it had been a dream… Letting out a sigh, he pulled himself into a sitting position, only to see a huge bulge beneath his pants. _Crap_! Why at a time like _this_!? It was times like these that Sparklez wished he was a girl, even if he couldn't dominate over his lover in the same way he did right now,at least he wouldn't be stuck with this ridiculous boner that required at least _some_ effort to get rid of if he were a girl.

The elder let out another sigh, this time with frustration, and stood up, inching over to a corner of the farlands which was darker. Even though there was no one visible nearby, he still felt as though someone were watching him. Notch no! If his father had some secret camera installed somewhere and had seen him having wet dreams like… _that_…Sparklez looked down and squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment. It wasn't something he really wanted to think about;the thought of his father laughing at the sight of his son's own carnal urges…

Shaking his head for a second time, still trying to get the image out of his head, Sparklez undid his belt, allowing his pants to fall to his ankles, before bringing his left hand to his mouth. He spat into it once and balled his hand into a fist, feeling the liquid squeeze and ooze through the gaps between his fingers as he did so, and brought his now slick, moist hand down to his manhood, cupping it over the tip and gliding it up and down his length. A small moan escaped his mouth as he began to move his hand faster, trying to achieve his release as soon as possible so that he could continue moving on with his travels. Who knew how much time he had wasted while he slept? His father didn't sleep, that was for sure, so of course his father had been active doing _things_ during the night.

Sparklez tried to muffle his moan as his own seed came flooding from the gap between his hand, and into a corner of the farlands. He grunted, sated, and pulled his hand up from his manhood, quickly rubbing his palm against the wall beside him in order to get rid of any of the cum that hadn't landed on the ground and had instead made its way to his hand. The things he would do for a tap and some soap right now…

Turning around, it was the first time Sparklez really got to observe the place he was in in broad daylight. It was a small room, composed mostly of grass, dirt, and stones, with the occasional flower dotted here and there. It was strange that there wasn't much water nearby, considering that he was in the farlands, a place composed almost entirely of organic materials. He had wound up sleeping on a bed made of grass and flowers all clumped together, and the only pool of water really visible in sight was a tiny one beside the bed, which had probably come into existence from a storm a day or two ago. It was only then that he saw a tiny slip of white paper hidden between the layers of his bed.

Sparklez' brows furrowed, and he eased over to his bed, and kneeled on one knee, gingerly pulling out the slip of paper to see if there was a note written on it like there had been on all the others. And to no surprise, there was. It was obvious that his father was going to communicate to him this way for the rest of this "trial", and who knew how long that would be.

"Remember when I told you that the next trial would be a trial of stamina?

Well, it is.

Walk to the left, turn left at the first opening, and left again; there'll be a huge pool of water there.

Jump in.

You'll have to hold your breath for as long as you can.

I'll time you, and yes, I'm watching you."

Immediately, Sparklez felt a chill run down his spine. So his father _had_ seen him in that state. He shuddered at the thought, and pulled himself to his feet, grimacing. Looking to his left, he saw that there was in fact a small opening, though it was well hidden by more patches of grass and dirt placed at random. He walked towards it, following the instructions that had been on the letter, and, true to his father's words, there was a huge pool of water as described on the letter.

'_Jump in.'_

Sparklez hesitated. There was no real clear instruction… Chances were he'd drown. After all, his father wasn't the kind of person who would feel mercy.

'_Jump in.'_

Again, he hesitated. If he died, there would be no way to save Ant or his son.

'_Jump in.'_

But if he didn't try, then his family would, no doubt, be murdered by his father, and he'd feel more guilty for not even having tried…

'_Jump in.'_

He did.

Tiny bubbles of air dragged into the pool with him now floated up, swaying his hair this way and that.

A mumbling clang, and Sparklez looked up to see there was now a cover over the pool. Panic. The son of Herobrine kicked off the bottom of the pool and rammed his hands against the cover, earning himself nothing but a bang.

Sparklez quickly recomposed his thoughts; panic wouldn't help with a challenge like this. He needed to _stay calm_. Normally he would've slowed his breathing but in a situation like this, that wasn't possible in the very least… Shit. Sparklez squeezed his eyes shut, and stilled his motions. He had to conserve energy if he were to see this through.

'_As if what I'd__just did__hadn't used enough__of my strength already.'_

How long would this be? Sparklez opened his eyes slightly, looking up agaisnt the cover and around the tiny pool. Through the sheets of cloudy water, he could barely make out a glint of red. It was obviously a clock. It must have been a countdown or something along those lines. For a moment, Sparklez wondered whether he should've swam closer to the timer to see how long he would have to hold his breath to survive this, but then decided against it- It would use up any of the energy he had remaining.

As Sparklez continued to wait, using one hand to steady himself against the side of the pool, he slowly started to feel his lungs beginningto burn, desperate for air. His eyes were squeezed shut as he concentrated solely on not letting both his body and fear get the better of him and make him breathe in a huge lung full of water. He opened an eye, trying to see the timer. At least he couldn't see any more minute symbols. Only seconds must be left. He could make this! Eyes snapped shut again as his body curled up into a ball.

Then, with a flood of water, Sparklez felt himself falling through the air, globs of water falling alongside him. He glanced down, only to see the floor approaching rapidly. Had he finished the trail?

He hadn't much time to dwell on it. As he heard a loud crack, a sharp pain shot along the back of his head, and as the man breathed in, he'd only managed to breathe in specks of water. Coughing and spluttering,spots of black dancing across his vision, and then the pain subsided, and everything was still.


	6. (x) To Heaven

Sparklez' eyes opened to what looked like a wall of cobblestone. The son of Herobrine crunched his eyes as he tried to remember what had happened, then cringed, remembering the blow to his head. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he ran his hand over the back of his head, and winced when he felt a bump and a tender area. That might be a bit of a problem for a while.

The man sighed, and, trying not to get too dizzy, pushed himself off the ground and turned around. He was outside the farlands now. He had just come out of them, the patterned layers of blocks of dirt, stone and water now stood in front of, or behind, him.

Looking around, Sparklez spotted yet another tiny slip of white paper flapping in the gentle breeze. This time it was scrunched beneath a stone block, and it was soaked. It must have been beneath the chamber full of water.

'Great placement, dad.' Sparklez' thought, shaking his head, before walking over to the note and rolling the rock away from it. The inked cursive writing had leaked across the page slightly, but the main characters were still visible.

Gingerly plucking the note from the grassy floor, and taking extra care not to let it tear, Sparklez read the note.

" I'm surprised by your reliance. Could it be because I'm your father?"

Sparklez rolled his eyes and resumed reading.

"There are 10 blocks of glow stone and a bucket of water hidden within these lands. In one of them is a note of what to do next, so you have to find all of them to proceed. Good luck handling the lag."

Sparklez could easily imagine his father cackling at the last sentence, and grimaced, before dropping his hands to his sides and looking back up at the farlands. These trials were going to be more difficult than he had originally imagined...

•••

It didn't take long for Sparklez' head to begin spinning madly. The dizzy feeling that came from being in the farlands for too long was known to make people incredibly ill, and sometimes to drive them mad. In the worst cases, people even died.

Sparklez took a deep breath, panting heavily as he pushed forth. The glowstone blocks he had already found were weighing on his back, and they didn't help to make him feel any better. All he had left was the bucket, and if he could find that, he'd be out of the place in a flash.

The farlands were similar to the Bermuda Triangle. Anyone who wondered there would get lost, but in this case, they'd fall ill and die. Almost no one made it out, and there was no one who had ever made it across, or at least, made it across and lived to tell the tale... If there even _was_ an "across". Thank Notch that Sparklez _wasn't_ trying to travel to the other side. All he was trying to do was find a _Notch damn bucket_ and _already_ his vision was going black.

His head was pounding with blood when he finally spotted the bucket lying amongst the stones. His vision was dotted with black, and he felt as though he were about to throw up.

Sparklez ran shakily towards the bucket, and pulled out the note inside it. By now, every time he stood still his body would sway from side to side. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear away the dizziness, and then proceeded to hobble out of a small cavern of the farlands, tumbling right over as soon as he was out.

Once the dizziness had finally cleared, Sparklez say up, and regathered his now-scattered supplies, before gingerly unfolding the note that had been inside the bucket.

"I see you have somehow managed to make your way through? Well, Sparklez, do you have the energy to go forth? Your next trial is in the aether! Collect some water with your bucket and construct you portal. I've calculated your spawn point, and there will be a note placed under a rock right beside your portal once you get there. Good luck!"

Sparklez felt his stomach growl, and frowned. There was no food nearby, let alone any animals to get food from!

Biting his lip, Sparklez picked up the glow stone blocks and began to pile them in a portal formation. He would just have to hope that he would come across some food somewhere in another trial...


End file.
